Working out When You’re Young Helps as Your Grow Older

You body will reward you with more energy and health for taking care of it in your early 20s. This is according to a new study released in the journal Neurology. The study includes that regularly doing exercises that get’s your blood pumping and your adrenaline rushing could help in your latter years. It could even help in protecting your memory capabilities along with your cognitive health for years to come.

“This is one more important study that should remind young adults of the brain health benefits of cardio fitness activities such as running, swimming, biking or cardio fitness classes,” study researcher David R. Jacobs, Jr, Ph.D., of the University of Minnesota, said in a statement.

Dr. Jacobs and his team of researchers have analyzed the connection between cardiovascular fitness and performance on cognitive tests which were conducted on more than 2,500 people. This study was started on these healthy individuals at the age of 25 years on an average. At the start of the test they were checked on a treadmill and then again twenty years down the line they were checked again. They were checked to see how long they could go on without experiencing shortness of breath. They were even made to take cognitive tests (to test psychomotor speed, executive functioning and verbal memory) 25 years after the start of the study.

The participants lasted for about 10 minutes on the treadmill on an average when they were in their twenties. When this test was repeated when they were middle aged, the time they were able to stay on the treadmill decrease by around 2.9 minutes. This isn’t the first study to show the connection between exercising early and feeling fitter later in life. There was a study conducted earlier published in the journal Psychological Medicine last year which showed staying active in your younger days helped you stay fitter in your latter years.